The Kigali Global Dialogue brought together over 300 policymakers, academics, civil society, and the private sector delegates from over 70 countries to deliberate and devise solutions, to critical sustainable development challenges facing the global community today. The second edition of the three-day conference was co-hosted by the Observer Research Foundation America (ORF America), Observer Research Foundation (ORF), the Rwanda Governance Board, and the Rwanda Convention Bureau. It was also a G20 international outreach event for India’s Presidency and a BRICS discussion forum under South Africa’s presidency, with more than half the speakers being women.

ORF America organized a roundtable and a panel discussion focusing on the challenges and opportunities of digital transformation in the Global South, especially the need to create digital public infrastructure (DPI) and ensure digital inclusion. The roundtable discussion emphasized that there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to building DPI. Countries should set priorities, determine pathways and implement policies that support a long-term strategy for digital transformation that is inclusive, equitable and sustainable.

Taking this theme forward, the panel discussion focused on the need to ensure that digitalization leaves no one behind and accelerates progress towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The speakers noted that even with the rapid spread of digital technologies, a large section of the world’s population—often the poorest and the most vulnerable—do not have the capacity, tools, or resources to be fully part of the digital economy. The panel also explored India’s approach to an inclusive DPI and its impact on socio-economic transformation harnessing digital technologies. Finally, the discussion highlighted the potential for international cooperation to make the digital economy and society more inclusive and equitable in the coming years and decades.

Please see Kigali Global Dialogue booklet and agenda here.

Roundtable on Digital Public Infrastructure:

Panel on Digital Inclusion: